Saudi Ministry of Commerce spokesman warns of anonymous e-stores

RIYADH - The Ministry of Commerce official spokesman Abdulrahman Al-Hussein has warned on Thursday the consumers from the anonymous electronic stores and accounts.

The spokesman stressed the need for consumers to be wary of shopping from fake and anonymous accounts that market fraudulent and counterfeit products and promote fake advertisements, as its intention is to defraud shoppers.

The spokesman stated that the ministry has emphasized the importance of consumers to deal with trusted e-stores, which have commercial records, or are registered on "Maarof" e-platform to preserve their rights in business operations.

Meanwhile, Al-Hussein called on all the e-stores who are registered on the “Maarof” platform to obtain the commercial registration or a freelancer document for the practitioners to ensure the continuity of documenting their stores on the platform.

The Ministry of Commerce allows the stores that have commercial registration to register on the “Maarof” platform after updating the policies and procedures of the registering process, he noted, while pointing out that the stores that do not have a commercial registration will not be able to work legally until they extract the freelance document through the freelance platform of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.

The objectives of the decisions of the Ministry of Commerce came to enhance the reliability of e-commerce and develop its activities and to motivate stores to expand, as well as to eliminate anonymous stores and to protect and preserve the merchant and consumer' rights.

Al-Hussein called for the importance of people’s cooperation to report violations of the e-stores through “Receiving a Commercial Complaint - Balagh” application, or through MCI Consumer Call Center 1900, or via the official website of the Ministry of Commerce, in addition to the “Maarof” platform for the stores that are already registered in it.